Method for x-ray dose tracking

Abstract

A method for providing x-ray dose information is executed at least in part by a computer and includes obtaining two or more technique setup parameters for a pending x-ray examination for a patient, at least one dimensional distance parameter related to the x-ray system, patient information parameters identifying one or more physical characteristics of the patient, and identifying the patient anatomy that is to be exposed. The projected effective dose value are calculated and displayed according to the obtained technique setup, dimensional distance, patient information parameters, and patient anatomy information. A message is displayed to the operator related to disabling the pending x-ray examination according to the calculated projected effective dose value.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for providing x-ray dose information, the method executed at least in part by a computer and comprising:
 obtaining two or more technique setup parameters for a pending x-ray examination for a patient; 
 obtaining at least one dimensional distance parameter related to an x-ray system; 
 obtaining patient information parameters identifying one or more physical characteristics of the patient; 
 identifying the patient anatomy that is to be exposed; 
 calculating and displaying a projected effective dose value according to the obtained technique setup, dimensional distance, patient information parameters, and patient anatomy information; 
 and 
 displaying a message to the operator related to disabling the pending x-ray examination according to the calculated projected effective dose value. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1  wherein the two or more technique parameters are a kVp value and an mAs value. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1  wherein the at least one dimensional distance parameter relates to one or more of a collimator opening distance, a source-to-detector distance, and a source-to-patient distance. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1  wherein the patient information parameters further comprise a thickness value for patient anatomy. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1  further comprising providing an override selection for acquiring a radiographic image for the patient. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1  further comprising obtaining a radiographic image and identifying at least one organ exposed to radiation from the obtained radiographic image. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6  further comprising computing and displaying an actual absorbed dose value for the at least one organ. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7  further comprising computing and displaying an actual effective dose value for the patient. 
     
     
       9. A method for providing x-ray dose information, the method executed at least in part by a computer and comprising:
 obtaining two or more technique setup parameters for a pending x-ray examination for a patient; 
 obtaining at least one dimensional distance parameter related to the x-ray system; 
 obtaining patient information parameters identifying at least the patient age, sex, and weight; 
 calculating and displaying a projected effective dose value according to at least the two or more obtained technique setup parameters, the at least one obtained dimensional distance parameter, and the patient information parameters; 
 accepting an operator command acknowledging the calculated projected effective dose value; 
 acquiring a radiographic image of patient anatomy according to the at least the two or more obtained technique setup parameters, the at least one obtained dimensional distance parameter, and the patient information parameters; 
 segmenting at least a portion of the patient anatomy within the acquired radiographic image; and 
 generating and displaying a re-calculated effective dose value according to the at least the portion of the segmented patient anatomy within the acquired radiographic image. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9  wherein the at least the portion of the segmented patient anatomy for the re-calculated effective dose value applies to a first organ. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10  wherein the re-calculated effective dose value for the first organ is a first re-calculated effective dose value and wherein there is further a second re-calculated effective dose value for a second organ of the segmented patient anatomy. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 10  wherein segmenting the patient anatomy further comprises identifying one or more organs in the radiographic image. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 9  further comprising calculating a thickness value for the patient according to radiographic image data. 
     
     
       14. A method for providing x-ray dose information for an obtained radiographic image of a patient, the method executed at least in part by a computer and comprising:
 obtaining two or more technique setup parameters used to generate the obtained radiographic image; 
 obtaining at least one dimensional distance parameter related to the x-ray system in generating the image; 
 identifying one or more patient organs exposed in the image; and 
 calculating and displaying an absorbed dose value for each of the one or more identified patient organs according to at least the two or more obtained technique setup parameters and the at least one obtained dimensional distance parameter. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14  wherein displaying the absorbed dose value comprises responding to the position of a cursor over the image and displaying the absorbed dose value for the identified organ of the patient that corresponds to the cursor position. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 14  further comprising calculating and displaying an effective dose for the patient according to at least the two or more obtained technique setup parameters and the at least one obtained dimensional distance parameter. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 14  further comprising segmenting the obtained radiographic image to identify the one or more organs of the patient that have been exposed. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 14  further comprising obtaining one or more patient information parameters, where the calculating and displaying the absorbed dose value for each of the one or more identified patient organs and an effective dose for the patient is according to the obtained one or more patient information parameters.